FINAL SURVEY REPORT INTENSIVE-LEVEL SURVEY OF NEW DEAL-ERA STATE PARKS IN OKLAHOMA Prepared by Oklahoma State Historic Preservation Office Marsha Weisiger, Project Director Susan Allen, Assistant Director Suzanne H. Schrems, Ph.D., Project Historian Neysa Clark, Field Survey Researcher Gary Zaepfel, Field Survey Researcher and Cartographer Cari Vandiver, Clerical Assistant Prepared for Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department June 1993 The activity that is the subject of this publication has been financedin part with Federal funds from the National Park Seivice, Department of Interior. However, the contents and opinions do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Department of the Interior, nor does the mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendationsby the Department of the Interior. The Department of the Interior prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, or handicap in its federally assisted programs. TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Maps ii Abstract iv Introduction 1 ProjectObjectives 3 Research Design and Methodology 7 Historical Development of the New Deal-Era State Parks II Kinds of Properties Sought and Identified 44 Results 49 Beavers Bend State Park 50 Boiling Springs State Park 53 Clayton Lake State Park 57 Greenleaf State Park 58 Lake Murray State Park 60 Lake Okmulgee State Park 63 Osage Hills State Park 64 Quartz Mountain State Park 66 Robbers Cave State Park 69 Roman Nose State Park 72 LIST OF MAPS Map I. New Deal-Era State Parks in Oklahoma Map 2. Beavers Bend State Park Map 3. Beavers Bend State Park--Eligible Areas Map 4. Beavers Bend State Park--Nodes Map 5. Boiling Springs State Park Map 6. Boiling Springs State Park--Eligible Areas Map 7. Boiling Springs State Park--Nodes Map 8. Clayton Lake State Park Map 9. Greenleaf State Park Map 10. Greenleaf State Park--Nodes Map 11. Lake Murray State Park Map 12. Lake Murray State Park--Nodes Map 13. Lake Murray State Park--Nodes 1, 2, 5, and 6 Map 14. Lake Murray State Park--Nodes 3 and 4 Map 15. Lake Murray State Park--Nodes 4 and 5 Map 16. Lake Murray State Park--Nodes 5 and 6 Map 17. Lake Okmulgee State Park Map 18. Lake Okmulgee State Park--Nodes Map 19. Osage Hills State Park Map 20. Osage Hills State Park--Nodes Map 21. Quartz Mountain State Park Map 22. Quartz Mountain State Park--Eligible Areas Map 23. Quartz Mountain State Park-Nodes Map 24. Robbers Cave State Park ii Map 25. Robbers Cave State Park--Nodes I and 2 Map 26. Robbers Cave State Park-Node 3 Map 27. Robbers Cave State Park--Node 4 Map 28. Robbers Cave State Park--Node 5 Map 29. Robbers Cave State Park--Node 6 Map 30. Roman Nose State Park Map 31. Roman Nose State Park--Eligible Areas Map 32. Roman Nose State Park--Nodes iii ABSTRACT The Oklahoma State Historic Preservation Office conducted an architectural/historic resource survey of ten state parks in cooperation with the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department. All ten parks were developed during the New Deal (1933-1942). The survey was designed to assist the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department in understanding which parks contained historically and architecturally significant resources, identifying resources that were eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places, and planning for the preservation of significant resources. Of the ten parks surveyed, Greenleaf State Park, Lake Murray State Park, Osage Hills State Park, and Robbers Cave State Park appear to be eligible in their entirety for listing in the National Register of Historic Places as outstanding examples of park landscapes designed by the national Park Service and built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and other New Deal agencies. Lake Murray State Park and Robbers Cave State Park merit consideration as National Historic Landmarks, due to the quality of the park designs, the integrity of the historic landscapes, and the histories of the parks, all of which incorporate significant aspects in addition to their primary association with the CCC. In addition, portions of Beavers Bend State Park, Boiling Springs State Park, Quartz Mountain State Park, and Roman Nose State Park appear to be eligible for listing in the National Register as locally outstanding designed landscapes or as historic districts. Neither Clayton Lake State Park nor Lake Okmulgee State Park appear eligible as designed landscapes or districts. The dam at Lake Okmulgee State Park, however, may be eligible for individual listing. IV INTRODUCTION In 1993, at the request of the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department (OTR), the Oklahoma State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) conducted an intensive-level survey of ten state parks that reportedly were constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) during the New Deal of the 1930s and are presently under the jurisdiction of OTR. This project was funded jointly by OTR and the National Park Service's Historic Preservation Fund, administered by the Oklahoma SHPO. The purposes of the project were to develop a historic context for the parks, to record minimum-level documentation on the resources in each of the parks, to identify historically and architecturally significant resources in each of the parks, to identify historically and architecturally significant resources worthy of preservation, and to make recommendations regarding the eligibility of the park resources for listing in the National Register of Historic Places as designed landscapes, historic districts, and individual resources. Related long-term purposes included increasing the awareness of the historical significance of the parks within OTR and among the general public, and providing a data base so that advice regarding appropriate rehabilitation measures can be provided by the SHPO upon request of the OTR Division of Planning and Development. Also during the course of the survey, the National Park Service (NPS), Historic Architecture Division, began conducting a theme study of CCC-related parks, including national and state parks. At the request of NPS, we also evaluated the parks for potential eligibility for National Historic Landmark status. The survey was directed by Marsha Weisiger, Architectural Historian, with the assistance of Susan Allen, Preservation Research Assistant. Suzanne Schrems served as Project Historian, and Neysa Clark and Gary Zaepfel served as Field Survey Researchers. Cari Vandiver served as the clerical assistant. Bruce Travis functioned as the OTR liaison for the project, and valuable assistance was provided by Gary Harrington of the Oklahoma Department of Libraries, which cooperated in making available the original plans for many of the parks. Pat Hernandez and Sharon Burr of the Oklahoma Department of Transportation assisted the project by printing drawings from the aperture cards. The ten parks included in this study were located throughout the State of Oklahoma (refer to Map 1). They were Beavers Bend State Park, Boiling Springs State Park, Clayton Lake State Park, GreenleafState Park, Lake Murray State Park, Lake Okmulgee State Park, Osage Hills State Park, Quartz Mountain State Park, Robbers Cave State Park, and Roman Nose State Park. Initially the survey focused exclusively on CCC-related resources, but as field work and historical research revealed that some resources were constructed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), the scope of the study was broadened to encompass park development by the New Deal as a whole. The chronological limits of the New Deal are 1933-1942, but resources constructed prior to 1933 and incorporated into the general landscape design of the parks also contribute to their significance. The survey was conducted in accordance with the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and Guidelines for Planning, Identification, Evaluation, and Registration and the Oklahoma SHPO's Architectural/Historic Resource Survey: A Field Guide. 2 PROJECT OBJECTIVES The state parks survey focused on the following objectives: 1. Through an intensive-level survey, the identification of individua1 resources, potential districts, and designed landscapes which, on the basis of age, integrity, and association with the New Deal development of the state parks, appeared to be eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. 2. The evaluation of each of the parks for potential National Historic Landmark status, and the transmittal of those recommendations to the National Park Service. 3. The identification and characterization of parks and portions of parks which, on the basis of insufficient age, integrity, or association with the New Deal development of the state parks, appeared to he ineligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. 4. Within each of the parks, the documentation of all major historic and nonhistoric resources, representative small historic features, such as culverts, and representative examples of multiple resource types, such as cabins, both historic and nonhistoric. Documentation included the completion of a Historic Preservation Resource Identification Form and one or two photographs, depending on the size of the resource and whether or not it was a contributing or noncontributing resource. S. Characterization of the landscape and the general historic feeling of defined "nodes" within each of the parks. 3 6. The preparation of a historic context for the New Deal park-development program, including an overview of the development of each of the parks. 7. The preparation of survey folders for each park and for each node within each park. The folders for each node contain the survey forms and photographs for each resource within that node. A list of resources within each of the parks, including their location within their respective node and their map location, is provided for each park. Duplicate copies of the survey folders for each park is maintained by OTR and by the SHPO. Field notes, however, are kept only in the SHPO files. 8. The preparation of a photo index to accompany the negatives. The negatives are kept on file at the SHPO.